In-line skating has evolved over the past few years into a diverse sport, ranging from traditional road skating to extreme skating involving intricate aerial maneuvers and pipe or rail grinding. A variety of in-line skates are now available to cater to the ever-changing needs of the modern skater.
Today""s aggressive skaters can be seen performing a wide range of stunts in skate parks or other public areas. Many of the tricks involve some form of grinding. Grinding can simply be defined as scraping or sliding across pipes, rails, or any edged surface. Grinding can take place in the forward and backward direction, or in the perpendicular direction relative to the wheel configuration. Forward and backward grinding occurs when the skater jumps onto a pipe structure, and grinds with the pipe structure directly parallel and adjacent to the in-line skate wheels. This can occur on either side of the in-line wheels since there is usually sufficient space to do so on the bottom of the boot. Many skate manufacturers are modifying their traditional designs with the addition of grinding plates or added reinforcements to accommodate the high stresses and wear to the skate.
The ability to land extreme skating maneuvers involves obtaining the necessary speed and having the required skill to land precisely in the correct location of both the skate and the pipe.
Many roller skaters may find in-line skating intimidating and difficult due to the lack of stability and balance that roller-skating allows. In-line skating requires the user to maintain a larger amount of independent balance in each ankle due to the layout of the in-line wheels, which allows side to side pivoting. Roller skates have a wheel layout with a wide stance, which prevent the user from being able to pivot in such a manner.
Many skaters carry out forward and backward maneuvers, which grind across the surface which they are engaging. In order to complete such a stunt, a fast enough speed must be attained to allow the skater to grind across the pipe or rail. In addition, maintaining balance while grinding requires much skill and experience, which can be intimidating for the novice or intermediate skater.
This invention demonstrates a remedy for this situation which incorporates specially shaped variable front and back wheels to engage the surface in a rolling manner as opposed to performing a grind. The embodiment of the skate consists of a wheel configuration with two front wheels and two back wheels. The two front wheels and two back wheels spin independently of one another, allowing for variable wheel speeds and stability during turning and other maneuvers. Each wheel has a concave portion between its innermost edge and an outer portion of greatest diameter. When the two wheels are laid out next to each other on the same axle, they form a full hourglass. This shape accommodates regular flat surface skating by utilizing the outer portion of greatest diameter for ground contact on each wheel. The concave portions of each wheel allow the skater to engage curved or edged surfaces.
The skate""s wheel configuration also allows the user to have more balance while skating. In addition, the amount of contact the skate has with the ground is no more than the four points that a traditional in-line skate maintains with the ground. This enables the user to attain faster speeds and more control than a traditional roller skate.